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The archetype of the apocalypse. Analysing the pandemics of racism, COVID‐19 and climate change
Author(s) -
Grevatt William K.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of analytical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.285
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1468-5922
pISSN - 0021-8774
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5922.12689
Subject(s) - humanity , pandemic , archetype , environmental ethics , covid-19 , racism , sociology , history , epistemology , political science , philosophy , law , gender studies , medicine , disease , pathology , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , theology
What we are witnessing in the present time in human history, in the 2020’s, is a vortex of intersecting pandemics – jolting revelations that are unfolding with a terrific energy and force – so much so that we cannot ignore them or escape them. These include the world‐wide pandemics of racism, COVID‐19 and climate change. This paper argues that all of these swirling pandemics are manifestations of the archetype of the apocalypse, which is constellating now in a very powerful way. Any one of these phenomena could swallow humanity whole as a species. Together they represent a seemingly overwhelming challenge for us to meet over the next century of life on earth. If humanity cannot meet the challenge of these combined negative forces, it could simply perish. A multi‐layered intersecting set of challenges such as this has never yet occurred in human history. We must therefore be very alert to what is going on, and as to how we can consciously mediate these threats, both individually and collectively. It also presents an unprecedented opportunity for humanity to evolve and grow psychologically both individually and collectively, nationally and globally.